Combining Creativity and Analytics to Drive Creative Excellence

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Eike Wobker spearheads Henkel's digital marketing transformation as the Global Head of Digital Brand Marketing for Henkel Consumer Brands (HCB), Hair. With a strategic focus on data-driven creativity and next-level campaigns, he drives digital creative excellence while advancing Henkel’s global digital ecosystem. Eike collaborates with marketing and media teams worldwide to elevate creative impact, optimize consumer touchpoints, and set new benchmarks in digital brand marketing.

“Bringing together left and right brain ways of working.”, for Eike, the role provides an opportunity to combine creativity and analytics. With a wide range of global brands in its portfolio, Henkel has a huge database of creative work from which to extract learnings to drive future growth. 

The path to digital marketing was obvious for Eike. “I was always fascinated by the intersection of data, creativity, and technology” which all play critical roles in the digital transformation he’s helped to deliver at Henkel HCB. He sees a natural synergy between the creative and analytical aspects of his job. “It’s about using the data that we have to enhance our creativity and not to limit it.” 

“I’ve also always loved iconic brands, and now I get to help some of the world’s most iconic brands craft a digital experience for consumers.” 

Ultimately all of his work is geared towards delivering creative excellence. For Eike, that means “producing work that not only stands out visually but also drives meaningful impact and conversion.” Across the advertising space, there are “a lot of beautiful pieces of work, but if they don’t resonate with the consumer or drive a tangible outcome for their brand then you have to question their purpose.” Creative excellence, he believes, strengthens brand equity, fosters loyalty, and ultimately drives ROI.

"In a world of endless scrolls, only meaningful creativity makes people stop."

Last year Henkel published 21,000 ads, supported by a record level of media spend. With creative accounting for over 50% of sales lift according to Nielsen, “it’s a huge lever to drive direct business impact.” 

"Even a small increase in our Creative Quality Score—just a few percentage points—can drive significant results when scaled across all our global brands and markets. This not only showcases our ability to scale creative excellence but also reinforces that every piece adheres to our creative guidelines: the golden standard of quality and meaningful impact."

For Eike, AI and Machine Learning have unlocked capabilities marketers have always dreamed of. “We can now personalize and optimize creatives in almost real time, enabling the delivery of more engaging assets at every consumer touchpoint.” 

Acknowledging the importance of technology, Eike also concedes that balancing innovations with the practical realities of the business can be challenging. He points to the explosion of interest in AI as the perfect example. “At the moment everyone is speaking about AI, but to successfully implement it, and use it to deliver impact for your brand at a global scale is a whole other question which requires strategic vision and execution.” 

Eike points specifically to the rise of AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, and the impact they’re already having on search marketing. “Before, consumers would have asked ‘How do I color my hair’ on a search engine.” This would have produced hundreds of results, including articles from brands such as Schwarzkopf detailing how to color hair with the brands’ products. Now, as people search directly into ChatGPT they remain on the platform, reducing their contact with original brand created content. He views this shift as a call to action for brands to rethink how they reach and engage consumers in this evolving landscape going forward. "To address these shifts, we’re exploring ways to integrate brand content into conversational AI environments, ensuring our consumers receive value wherever they search."

At Henkel, Eike and his team have laid the groundwork for a long-term creative excellence journey, tracking nearly all ads for quality and performance. Looking ahead, he plans to deepen this focus by linking metrics like ad recall and consideration to creative quality. “Ad recall tells us that people remember our creative work. But consideration goes a step further—it shows how likely consumers are to purchase our products or services.”

Eike’s long-term philosophy is to 'stay curious.' Reflecting on the rapid evolution of the marketing landscape, he notes, 'If we look back even two years, predicting today’s developments would have been nearly impossible a decade ago.' He encourages his team to embrace experimentation with emerging technologies, adapt to new platforms and formats, and proactively identify opportunities for Henkel’s global brands.

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